Lucia Dlugoszewski

Lucia Dlugoszewski (June 16, 1925 – April 11, 2000) was a Polish-American composer, poet, choreographer, performer, and inventor. She developed a unique approach to the grand piano called the "timbre piano," which involved using objects on the strings and playing the piano's interior with percussion mallets, hands, or other methods. She also invented many percussion instruments, including Unsheltered Rattles, Tangent Rattles, Square Drums, and Ladder Harps. She is known for her long association with the Erick Hawkins Dance Company, for which she first composed in 1951. She served as the company's music director until Hawkins's death in 1994, after which she became its artistic director.